Combined mail box and signpost



-Apfil 24, 192s.

R. B. SMITH COMBINED MAL BOX AND SIGNPOST Filed April 9, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @Noz un,

April 24, 1928 R. B. SMITH COMBINED MAIL BOX AND SIGNPOST Filed April 9. 1927 v2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Apr. 24, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT B. SMITH, or SABGENT, NEBRASKA, AssIGNoB or ONEHALE To 'GEORGE E. STEINHOEE, or SABGENT, NEBRASKA. v

COMBINED MAIL BOX AND SIGNPOST. l n

Application filed April 9,v

The invention relates to a combined mail Abox and sign post.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and efficient combined mail box and sign post of strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction adapted to be mounted beyond the roadway so as to be out of the way of ditch ing, grading and other road working machinery and equipped with a service arm adapted to support a mail box and a signy adjacent the roadway in as convenient and advantageous position as when mail boxes and sign posts are arranged in the ordinary position adjacent the'crown of the road.

In various sections of the country mail box posts and highway sign posts are driven into the ground at the edge of the ground of the road and inside the ditch at the side of the road. When in this position they are continually in the way of traffic and constantly inthe way of road working machin! ery. On dirt roads it is necessary to go over the road .every week in the year and if there is much rain the road must be gone over several times in a week. The present arrangement of highway sign post and mail box post causes the traffic to pull the drag up out of the ditch and around these posts and it is .necessary to repeat this operation many times in a mile and it becomes a real nuisance. Also the work of cleaning up the ditches at these posts must be done with shovels by hand and this is very expensive. In addition to this, about twice each year a large grader must work the road and ditches over and at such times it is necessary to pull out these mail box posts and highwayv sign posts and remove them, replacing them when the work is done. This is slow, inconvenient' and expensive.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combined mail box and highway sign post adapted to be driven into the ground or otherwise arranged for use at a point outside of the ditch and up on the curb clear of all road working machinery and where it will not be an obstruction at any time during the year.

Another object of the invention is to providev a combined mail box and sign post of this character equippedrwith an adjustable pivotally mountedl servicearm adapted to carry both a mail box and a road sign land 1927. ySe1'ia`1`No. 182,466.

capable ofsupportingthe signy and the mail box at the desired elevation at the side of the roadway and capable lof being swung horizontally out ofthe way and into a posi-.

portion and minor details of construction,`

within thescope ofthe claims, may be resorted to without departing from `thezspirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. i f Y In the drawings Figure l is a side elevation of a combined mail box and sign post constructed in accordance with this invention.- y

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the saine' the service arm being shown swung horizontally out ofthe way in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinalsectional View, the service arm being elevated out of the way. y f

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view illustrating the construction kof the locking mechanism for securing the pivoted brace to the adjustable service arm.

Figs; 5 and 6 are' detail views,

In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention the combined mail box and sign post comprises in its construction a' post l preferably constructed of tubular' metal circular in cross section as shown, but a solid post may, of course, be employed if desired. The post l has its lower end 2 flattened and bifurcated' to* receive a tapered blade 3 secured in the slot 4 of the bifurcation by ai.

rivet 5 or other suitable fastening" device. The tapered blade which projects laterally from opposite sides of the post is adapted'y to readily penetrate the ground and' thelower flattened end 2 is taperedin thickness to provide op ositely' inclined side' faces which substantial merge into the side facesof the lower portion of the blade so as toqferm no obstruction driving into the` ground. The post may be set in concrete or mounted in any other desired manner as will be readily understood. i

Mounted upon the upper portion of the post'is a sleeve 6 having its upper end split and spread to form a pair of divergent arms 7 which are pivoted between spaced longitudinal side flanges 8 of a service arm 9 by a transverse bolt 10 or ot-her suitable pivot. The arms 7 are rounded at their upper ends at the inner side edges at 11 and form shoulders 12adjacent their outer side edges to limit the downward movement of the service arm for supporting the same in a horizontal position. The rcun'ded inner edges permit the service arm to swing upwardly from a horizontal or approximately horizontal position to the upright position illustrated. in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The transverse pivot 10 islocated intermediate of the ends of the service arm or member and the inner portion is preferably about one-third the length of the outer portion although the service arm or member may be varied in length to suit the width of the ditch at the side of the road.

In practic-e three standard sizes will be employed to suit the different road construction, but a service armor member of any suitable length may, of course7 be provided.

The service arm is rigidly held in its a'djusted position by means of an inclined brace 13 pivoted at its lower end by a bolt 14 between extended ends 15 of a collar 16 encircling the lower portion of the sleeve and having the terminal portions 15 bent outwardly to form spaced ears. rlhe upper portion of the inclined brace 13 is forked to form arms 17 which are arranged at an ob'- tuse angle to the body portion of the brace. The arms 17 fit against the other faces of the side flanges 8 of thc service arm and are provided at their upper ends with inwardly extending lugs 18 which project inwardly over the arm as clearly illustrated in Fig. ft of the drawings. The flanges 8 are provided with approxin'iatcly inverted key hole shaped openings 19 to receive a transverse fastening device 2O of substantially the same shape in cross section as the openings lf) and provided at one end with a handle 21 and having reduced rounded bearing portions 22 to permit the transverse fastening device to be partially rotated to carry the transverse fastening device out of alignment with the openings 19 to prevent the fastening device from becoming accidentally withdrawn from engagement with the flanges and the brace. The rounded portions of the transverse fastening device permit the latter to be partially rotated to align the fastening device with the openings and in this position the handle is in an upright position so that the handle will operate as a weight to swing the transverse fastening device out of alignment with the key hole openings should the person adjusting the brace and the service arm omit to turn the handle -down to its locking position. The key hole openings 19 of the flanges are arranged in transverse alignment andl at suitable intervals to permit the service arm to be adjusted to a horizontal or slightly inclined position for use and to be arranged in an upright position when it is desired to move the service arm out of the way of grading or other road making machinery and when it is impractical to swing the arm horizontally to accomplish this result. `The sleeve is provided at its lower end at diametrically opposite points with four notches 23 which are adapted to engage with the projecting `ends of a pin 211. The pin 24T. pierces the post and. projects from opposite sides thereof and is suitably secured to the post to forni the projecting .studs to interlock with the notches of the lower` end of the sleeve. By lifting the sleeve out of engagement with the pin the sleeve and the service arm are adapted to be rotated to extend the service arm across the ditch of a road or to arrange it longitudinally of the 'ditch at the outer side thereof. VVhenthe sleeve is in engagement with the pinr it is held against accidental rotary movement. y

The outer end of the service arm is provided with a depending portion 25 which is adapted toreceive a road sign. The road sign which may be of any desired construction is designed to be secured to the depending portion 25 by one or more bolts or` other suitable fastening m-eans.` The outer end portion of the service arm is also adapted to support a mail box 26 fitted against the lower edges of thc side flanges 8 and secured t-o the arm by clevises 27. rThe clevises or clips 27 are approximately U-shaped and have threaded terminals forihe reception of initts 28 for securing blip plates or ba rs 25) to the threaded ends of the clips. lihe plates or bars 29 extend across the lower face of the mail box and support thc latter which is securely clamped against the lower edges of the side flanges of the service arm so that there is no` liability of a mail box accidentally slipping out of proper position. The inner end of the service arm is provided with a suitable counterbalancing weight 30 which substantially counterbalances the weight of the. mail box and vthe road sign when the former is empty and it enables the service arm to be readily shifted and adjusted. i The device is designed to be constructed of galvanized iron or other suitable material and will present a neat and attractive appearance, also the parts of the device may be readily separated for convenience of' shippin@ and maybe quickly assembled for use.

T e combined mail box and sign post may be used for supporting either the mail box or a sign, that is the depending sign support- 

